Malwarebytes is good antivirus software that takes minimal effort to learn and use.

If you want more than standard computer virus protection, you can upgrade to the Malwarebytes Premium plan or the Premium + Privacy plan to get even more features such as a secure VPN. Premium offers additional features, such as a free web security browser that blocks phishing attempts, trackers, pop-up ads, and other exploits.

One of the best features of Malwarebytes is that you can try the Premium versions for free for 14 days. Malwarebytes is confident enough in their products that you also get a 60-day money-back guarantee on premium plans.

Although it may not offer perks like reimbursement in cases of a data breach, as Norton 360 Antivirus does, Malwarebytes is still a solid program for the cost. Norton promises to refund your money if the product is unable to rid your device of a virus. Still, it doesn’t help you if any damage is done to your computer.

Malwarebytes antivirus overview

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Overall Rating:

“We found Malwarebytes to be a good all-around antivirus when you want a no-frills program with high scores in virus detection.

But if you’re a Mac user and want more than a quick scan option, you should look elsewhere. (Currently, Malwarebytes doesn’t offer a full scan feature for macOS.) It’s also missing some basics, like a firewall, so we recommend using Malwarebytes along with another antivirus software like Windows Defender.”

Who is Malwarebytes best for?

We recommend Malwarebytes for people who want a solid antivirus program with a few bonus features without paying much more.

If you want to protect your device but don’t want to spend a fortune on extras you may not need, Malwarebytes may have the right level of security you’re looking to get.

While it may not have all the bells and whistles that an antivirus program like Kaspersky claims to have, Malwarebytes does have a regularly updated database. That gives you more security because it can catch the latest malware threats.

When you get Malwarebytes, you can opt for the free version, which comes with the basic on-demand scanning feature, or the Premium option that gives you ongoing threat protection. Because even the Premium version costs less than $100 per year, we think Malwarebytes is a good choice if you want some peace of mind without paying a fortune.

Malwarebytes pros and cons

Malwarebytes Premium features

When we did our testing, one of the first things we noticed was that the scanning process only took seconds to complete. We ran it several more times to be sure there were no issues, and every time it scanned more than 45,000 files in less than five seconds.

You get faster scans if you set the CPU usage to High. You can change the selection to Medium or Low if you’re not concerned with how fast the scan runs.

If you keep the CPU usage setting turned to High, it could affect your system performance, so you’ll want to keep that in mind. We tried the different options and only noticed a slight increase in scan time to nine seconds when changing the CPU usage to Low.

One feature we did find lacking is the inability to run a full scan on Mac devices. It appears that only quick scans are available on these, whereas Windows machines have the option to run full scans.

That explains why it ran the scans on our test device in record time. If you want the full scanning capability and use an Apple product, you’re out of luck with Malwarebytes.

Malware and antivirus scan

Both Malwarebytes Free and Malwarebytes Premium versions come with the ability to run manual anti-malware scans. If you want automatic scanning, you’ll need to spring for the Premium edition.

The Scheduled Scans feature is highly customizable and offers hourly, daily, and weekly scans. You can even set it to scan every other day if you like.

Even with only having the quick scan option, we were impressed by how fast the scan performed. When we put the CPU usage to the Low setting, it still scanned in less than 10 seconds, with minimal burden on our device.

Phishing protection

Malwarebytes Premium offers phishing protection, but the free version is for regular clean-up functions missed by other antivirus software.

On the Malwarebytes website, it mentions that the Premium version warns you when visiting malicious or fraudulent websites that could contain phishing scams. When testing the product, we found no specific setting to turn on for anti-phishing. It appears that this is an automatic feature with the Malwarebytes Premium edition.

Real-time protection

Malwarebytes Premium does come with real-time protection. You get the App block and malware protection features that guard your device before malicious attacks happen. These features help keep you from downloading damaging files to your device.

The Real-Time Protection feature is simple to use. You go to the Malwarebytes dashboard and select the “On” option beside Malware protection and App block.

Once you get these settings toggled to “On,” you have the Real-time Protection feature running until you turn it off.

Ransomware protection

Ransomware protection is included in Malwarebytes Premium. It’s simple to use, because once you install the Malwarebytes software, it searches for ransomware while you scan for viruses, Trojans, and other malware.

As with viruses and malware, if ransomware threats are found, you’ll receive a report asking if you want to remove them. Once you confirm you want to remove the threats, Malwarebytes will clean it up and restore your privacy to the previous security.

In our testing, we found the ransomware protection feature easy to use, as it was like running the regular virus scan. It still only took a matter of seconds, and we were notified with a report that no items were detected.

Browser Guard

The Browser Guard is a browser extension that lets you add additional web security that helps protect against pop-up ads, phishing sites, and online trackers.

It works without you noticing and won’t notify you unless an entire website is blocked. If the Browser Guard extension suspects you’re accessing a website that may contain malware or malicious software links, it could completely block the use of the website.

You can currently download the Browser Guard extension for numerous browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. If you use Safari, you can download the extension from the App store.

Browser Guard lets adjust the level of protection for the websites you visit. The extension has selections for:

• Ad/Trackers
• Malware
• Scams
• PUPs (potentially unwanted programs)

You can move the toggles to change any of these settings to your desired preferences.

We liked the ability to have added protection against different online threats. Downloading the extension was seamless, and using it is as easy as clicking on an icon.

Browser Guard shows you if there is anything to block on the websites you visit, so you’re always informed. Here is a random website we visited to show you the number of issues it found. The results may surprise you.

With all the features selected, the Malwarebytes Browser Guard found a total of 48 issues that might need to be blocked. None seemed harmful, but it was good to note.

Bonus features

Because Malwarebytes is a lower-cost option when it comes to antivirus programs, there aren’t a lot of extra bells and whistles available. But you can opt for the Premium + Privacy VPN plan that gives you additional online privacy features.

Malwarebytes test results

Third-party test sites such as AV-Comparatives check security products against real-world scenarios to challenge them with threats. This testing gives products a chance to demonstrate their protection features and other components they offer.

Malwarebytes AV-Comparatives test results[1]

We were pleased overall with the results of the AV-Comparatives test results. Mobile security and real-world protection both scored high, with close to 100% of the issues being blocked. The malware protection feature also clocked in at 99.8%, blocking 10,015 files.

The performance score was a little on the low end, at 75. It seems Malwarebytes Premium has a bit of an impact on system performance when it comes to launching applications compared with other tested products. Out of three bars, it only scored one bar with both the first and second run of launching applications. That’s an indication that the program was slow to open each time.

Our Malwarebytes Premium experience

Our Malwarebytes Premium experience was a pleasant journey with an easy-to-use interface and fast scanning capability. We ran multiple virus scans, with the longest one clocking in at 11 seconds and scanning almost 54,000 files.

We were disappointed that you can only use the full scan option on a PC or Windows machine. If you’re a Mac user, you only have the quick scan option.

That may not be a big deal if you want antivirus software that can breeze through your files quickly, letting you get back to business as usual. It won’t hog your system resources, as displayed in our numerous scans.

None of the scans detected any viruses on our device. It’s worth noting that we were using a Macbook Air M1 with the Big Sur operating system.

While on a Mac, we only had the quick scan feature, so we can’t say for sure how fast the full scan would take, though according to the report on PCMag.com, a full scan averaged around 90 seconds.[2] That’s still super fast compared with other antivirus software, which can sometimes take an hour to complete.

Malwarebytes Premium also has scanning reports where you can view the history up to the last 30 days. It’ll show you the type of scans run, the date of the scans, and if the program found any malicious files. You can see if those files were quarantined or ignored.

The Detection History feature is one we liked because you can get a more in-depth view of the scanning history and how many threats were found. It also shows when the software received an update, which we think is a nice feature. More updates mean you get more protection against the latest malware.

Malwarebytes compatibility

You won’t have trouble finding a system or device that’s compatible with Malwarebytes. You can also use it with another antivirus software, which could be a bonus if you’re being extra cautious about online security. You also get access to its advanced antivirus protection with the Browser Guard extension.

You can use Malwarebytes Premium on any of these devices and platforms:

• Microsoft Windows
• macOS
• Android
• iOS (iPhone, iPad)
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Apple Safari

Malwarebytes customer support

Malwarebytes has a support page with different options you may be having issues with, such as billing, installing, adding devices, and requesting a refund. There is also a chat function you can use to ask questions and get automated answers.

This may not be the best option if you have questions that can’t be answered using a knowledge base. We did find this feature a little lacking as we weren’t taken to a chat with a live agent. But once we signed in to our account page, we were again taken to a chatbot where we could fill out a question form and wait for a return email.

If you need more detailed help, you can go to your account page. You’ll be prompted to sign in to your account with your email and password.

We did not find a way to contact an agent directly through the chat service, and that would’ve been a valuable option. Still, there are plenty of things you can do from the basic support page that may help get you where you need to be.

Malwarebytes cost

You can get the free version of Malwarebytes if all you want is on-demand scanning. When you need other features, such as scheduled scans and real-time protection, you should opt for Malwarebytes Premium.

Premium’s starting cost for one device is $44.99/yr, and up to $79.99/yr. Other antivirus systems such as Norton Antivirus cost about the same.

You can get cheaper options, though. Bitdefender has a yearly plan for $59.99 that covers three devices. Still, we think getting Malwarebytes is worth the minimal cost when considering how fast the scans run.

Malwarebytes plans and prices

Malwarebytes FAQs

Bottom line: Is Malwarebytes good?

From our viewpoint, we found Malwarebytes to be a good all-around antivirus when you want a no-frills program to give you some online peace of mind. With Malwarebytes Premium, you get extras such as scheduled scans and ransomware protection.

Overall, Malwarebytes is a trusted antivirus that’s good for the average online user. When you want something that won’t take much time and focuses on removing malware and other online threats, Malwarebytes may be a perfect choice. With high scores in virus detection, you can rest easy knowing your device is protected from numerous online threats.

Learn More

On Malwarebytes's website

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• Free version with manual scans
• Near-perfect protection scores for Premium plan
• High starting price point for paid plans

If you’re a Mac user and want more than a quick scan option, you should look elsewhere. Currently, Malwarebytes doesn’t offer a full scan feature for macOS. You also won’t get a firewall with this software on Mac or Windows, which could be a deal breaker depending on your security needs.

If you’re looking for antivirus and web protection that offers more cybersecurity features, check out our list of the best antivirus software for more options including Avira, BullGuard, and ESET.

Learn More

On Malwarebytes's website

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• Free version with manual scans
• Near-perfect protection scores for Premium plan
• High starting price point for paid plans

Author Details

Patti Croft

About the Author

Patti Croft is a freelance writer who specializes in all things technology. Her expertise includes antivirus software, online security strategies, and safety practices. She has a degree in Computer Information Systems and extensive experience working in the IT field. In her spare time, Patti is an avid reader and researcher, and loves spending time with her pets. She currently shares an office with her cat, Beau.